LIBERTY, Ind. – The No. 6 Northeastern boys basketball team remained unbeaten in the Tri-Eastern Conference on Friday as the Knights topped Union County 49-45.
Freeman Brou hit a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Class 2A Knights.
“He made two big free throws,” Northeastern coach Brent Ross said. “That’s a lot of pressure on the road to win a conference game.”
Combined with Winchester’s 51-47 win over Lincoln on Friday, the Knights (16-4, 4-0) clinch at least a tie for the conference title with a victory over Tri High on Saturday. It was Northeastern’s 26th win in a row in TEC play and the 41st straight against conference opponents.
“Our kids know what they’re playing for and they’re proud of it,” Ross said. “You don’t get streaks like this very often.”
The streak was in jeopardy during the final period as Union County’s Mason Miller tied the game at 40-40 with a 3-pointer with 3:38 left, but the Knights were able to hold off the Patriots.
“We held our composure,” Ross said. “That’s what you do as a championship team.”
Northeastern led 11-7 after one and 22-17 at halftime before holding a 30-27 advantage after three.
Shooting was an issue for Union County (8-12, 2-4).
“We were 6-of-25 from three,” Union County coach Mark Detweiler said. “We got a lot of good looks. We executed well and our effort was good.”
Miller led the Patriots with 18 points.
“Mason was special with what he did,” Detweiler said. “They did nice job of taking Logan (Sanford) out of some things, but he did get 11 shot attempts. It comes down to do you make the plays to close it out.”
Derek Dearth added eight points for the Patriots, while Preston Scott ended with seven. Sanford had four. Cameron Donovan grabbed 10 rebounds.
“We did a really good job on Logan, who one of the best, if not the best shooter in the conference,” Ross said. “They had some kids step up a play well.”
For Northeastern, Tyler Smith led the way with 17 points as he finished with 10 in the final quarter.
Nate Reynolds tossed in 10 points to go with seven rebounds and Jordan Stolle added nine points. Brou had eight.
Union County won the JV contest 53-31 with Trevor Rieboldt leading the way with 16 points. Joey Weller added nine points.
Caylor Fisher topped the Knights with nine points and Blake Hancock finished with eight points.
The next game for Union County is Tuesday as the Patriots entertain East Central.
Box Score
NORTHEASTERN (16-4, 4-0) – Tyler Smith 7 3-6 17, Jalen Hillard 1 0-0 3, Freeman Brou 2 4-6 8, Nate Reynolds 3 1-4 10, Harrison Rice 0 0-0 0, Kaleb Mikesell 1 0-0 2, Jordan Stolle 3 1-2 9, Alex Reynolds 0 0-0 0. Team – 17 9-18 49.
UNION COUNTY (8-12, 2-4) – Cameron Sanford 1 0-0 3, Cameron Donovan 1 1-6 3, Mason Miller 5 6-6 18, Logan Sanford 1 1-2 4, Derek Dearth 3 2-2 8, Preston Scott 2 1-4 7, Mook Shepler 1 0-0 2, Joey Weller 0 0-0 0. Team – 14 11-20 45.
Northeastern 11 22 30 49
Union County 7 17 27 45
3-pointers – Northeastern 6 (N. Reynolds 3, Stolle 2, Hillard), Union County 6 Miller 2, Scott 3, L. Sanford, C. Sanford). Rebounds – Northeastern 29 (N. Reynolds 7), Union County 37 (Donovan 10, Miller 7). Turnovers – Northeastern 13, Union County 11. Fouls – Northeastern 19, Union County 18. Fouled out – A. Reynolds, C. Sanford. JV score – Union County 53, Northeastern 31.